The north is my favourite part of Vancouver Island (Tofino's long beach aside) on account of its soaring mountains set against rich-blue lakes. I rented a car and drove north from Courtenay. Through Campbell River. Sayward. Slept in Port McNeill. One of my favourite stops on the trip was at a small bookshop-cum-cafe-cum-gallery in Port Hardy: Cafe Guido. If there were a bookshop equivalent to the CBC "best record shop in Canada" search that wound up this week, that place'd have my vote.
One story that I read about in the town newspaper at that cafe was of the community on Gilford Island where Everyone - the whole town - had to move house on account of mould. They abandoned their houses. It's going to take two more years to rebuild them all. They've also had to drink bottled water for more than eight years. Maybe I should make a small Youtube-documentary about their story?
